Et Cetera ...

September 14, 2013

We congratulate students at Fairmont Elementary School for being diligent readers over the summer. They read 4,647 books in about 90 days. While that is short of the 10,000 books that would have gotten Principal Jim Davison to spend a night on the school roof, the kids still put up a pretty impressive number. Falling short of the goal means one thing for sure: There's always next summer to give it another try.

Reading in the summer helps kids maintain and improve their skills, and that keeps them on pace with their classmates.

Tests should be taken

We note a story that appeared on the Associated Press wire this week about some parents in the country "opting out" of having their children take standardized tests at school. The parents are keeping their kids at home on test days.

We cannot agree with this practice. While some of the parents' concerns relate to stress on their kids, that does not seem like a good reason. Stress is part of life. Better to get used to it. Other parents' concerns are political. If that is true, they should work to change the process, not undermine it. Schools should respond to the opt-out movement by requiring that tests be made up. It's that simple.

City acting sensibly

Fairmont City Council this week moved forward with a sensible budget. The local property tax levy would rise 3 percent, which is not unreasonable.

The city, like others, has reduced staff and made other cutbacks in recent years as state aid declined.

At the same time, there are many nice services here, including infrastructure and parks that must be maintained.

We do not believe the city has made any wild decisions with public funds. We hope the good work continues.

Daycare makes move

We congratulate the daycare center at Truman Public Schools for moving ahead with plans to add infants and toddlers to its program. Truman has been working on the change for some time, running into various snags.

The school's hope is to provide a much-needed service in the community. If it is successful, the new program also could be a boost to the overall financial condition of the daycare center. That would seem to make it a win-win for parents and taxpayers alike.